Chapter 10

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="14800640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="mim1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 1"><U>Chapter 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 2"><U>Chapter 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 3"><U>Chapter 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 4"><U>Chapter 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 5"><U>Chapter 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 6"><U>Chapter 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 7"><U>Chapter 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 8"><U>Chapter 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 9"><U>Chapter 9</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 10</B>   |   <A HREF="mim11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 11"><U>Chapter 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 12"><U>Chapter 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 13"><U>Chapter 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 14"><U>Chapter 14</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 15"><U>Chapter 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 16"><U>Chapter 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 17"><U>Chapter 17</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/oldnews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Old News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrfic/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanfics</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrart/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/a-j/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors A-J</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/k-z/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors K-Z</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/art/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Fanart List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/ffsubmit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit a Fanfic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/fanart_submit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb"><U><B>Message Board</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Chapter 10</I></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making: Chapter 10: The Cubone's Secret</B></div> <div> "According to this map, we should reach Peridot Town in two days." Folding the map, Zeth glanced over at his pokémon companions, who were enjoying a quick snack of assorted fruit from some nearby trees. "We're making good time, although I would have preferred to catch some more pokémon in the last few days."</div> <div> Florio grinned at Zeth, {Yeah, it's pretty bad when you can't find pokémon in the middle of a forest!}</div> <div> Blaze, the Growlithe, halted his attack on a large apple. {Well, we did see a few Rattatas and Pidgeys, so we can't say that we haven't seen any.}</div> <div> The Ivysaur gave Blaze a light shove with one vine. {Oh be quiet, you know what I meant!} The Growlithe blew a puff of smoke at Florio in response. The plant pokémon sneezed, setting off a round of laughter from Zeth and the other pokémon.</div> <div> Zeth grabbed an apple off of the pile they had picked. "Glad to see you two are getting along so well." He grinned and took a bite out of his apple. "Just don't get into any real fights, okay?"</div> <div> {Awww, we wanted to turn each other into paste, though!} Florio mock-complained. {You never let us have any fun!}</div> <div> "Well, if you really want Blaze to flame you, I have no problem with it. You're the one who's weak to fire, after all."</div> <div> {No thanks, I'll pass.}</div> <div> "I thought you might. It wouldn't be a fair match, anyway. Besides, I think we may have other things to worry about right now." Zeth pointed up to the sky, which was filled with dark clouds. "We're going to need to find some shelter before that hits us. Come on, let's get going." Zeth finished off his apple and threw the core into the bushes. Suddenly there was a loud <B>crack</B> and the core came flying back, narrowly missing Zeth's head. Zeth jumped back, scanning for his attacker. "Who's there?"</div> <div> The bushes rustled and a Cubone stepped out, twirling its bone club. Blaze ran up to Zeth, {A Cubone! Can I battle him, Zeth? Please!?}</div> <div> "Well, I --" Zeth was cut off by a war cry from the Cubone, who flung his club at Blaze with amazing speed and accuracy. The unprepared Growlithe took the hit across his head, stumbling back dizzily. "Fine then, if he wants to play rough, we'll give him a battle! Come back at him with a Flamethrower attack!" The half-stunned Growlithe fired a poorly-aimed shot that hit the dodging Cubone on the back. Catching his "Bonemerang," the Cubone dove at the fire dog, forcefully smashing his skull helmet into the canine. Blaze yipped, then blew a powerful stream of fire into his opponents face.</div> <div> The Cubone reeled back, shielding his unprotected eyes from the flames. "Blaze, use Take Down, but watch out for that club!" The Growlithe launched himself at the Cubone, throwing him to the ground. Zeth grabbed one of his pokéballs.</div> <div> "Stop!" The group spun around to see a middle-age man pull out a pokéball. "Rocky, return!" A beam of red light shot out of the ball, pulling the battered Cubone back inside. "Sorry about that, Rocky doesn't usually attack travelers like this."</div> <div> "Well, it was our fault as much as his. We thought he was a wild pokémon, so we were going to capture him." Zeth said, feeling a little embarrassed.</div> <div> The man nodded, "Well, no harm done." He extended his hand. "I'm Spencer."</div> <div> Zeth shook the man's hand. "I'm pleased to meet you. My name's Zeth."</div> <div> Blaze barked, looking nervously at the sky. {I hate to interrupt, but I'm not very fond of rain and it looks like we're going to have a storm any minute. Can we find some shelter now?}</div> <div> Spencer smiled at the Growlithe, "Well, I can't just leave all of you out in the rain. Come on, you can stay at my house until the weather clears up."</div> <bR> <div> "Checkmate!" Zeth grinned as he pushed his queen across the chess table.</div> <div> "Spencer stared at the jade figurines scattered across the board. "Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Care for another match?"</div> <div> "Sure." Zeth reset his pieces, noticing that Sting was watching the matches closely. <I>She's probably learning my strategy so she can beat me later. Knowing her, she'll master this game. </I>Turning his thoughts back to the game, Zeth shoved a pawn forward.</div> <div> The gorgeous chess set was just one of the interesting objects scattered around the room. Spencer had dozens of carvings, figurines, and paintings from places all over the world. At the moment, Blaze and Eva were admiring a complete set of elemental stones. Zeth called over to them, "Be careful, you two, unless you're in a hurry to evolve." They nodded, then trotted over to where Rocky was showing Talon and Florio some glass pokémon figurines.</div> <div> As Zeth watched the pokémon, he noticed that the Cubone kept glancing out the window. <I>He almost seems like he's worried that something might be out there</I>. Zeth watched Rocky for a few more moments, absentmindedly moving his bishop across the board.</div> <div> "Check." Surprised, Zeth stared down at the mess he had made while he wasn't paying attention.</div> <div> "Well, I think you've won this one." Zeth commented. "That'll teach me to watch the board when I play chess."</div> <div> Spencer nodded, "Yeah, I noticed that your mind seemed to be elsewhere. Did you see something interesting in my collection or something?"</div> <div> Zeth smiled, "It's <B>all</B> interesting, but I was actually watching Rocky. He keeps glancing outside, almost as if he's nervous or something."</div> <div> Spencer looked over at the Cubone for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Beats me. Ever since I found him two months ago, he's always acted a little strange. I've heard that Cubones are loners, so my guess is that he feels a little uncomfortable around others. I've known him to sneak out for hours at a time, but he always comes back, so I haven't ever thought about it much."</div> <div> "Maybe he just likes to be mysterious." Zeth joked. "You're probably right about it being a 'loner' thing. I mean, if he's done this for two months, then it could just be a habit he's acquired. How did you find him anyway?"</div> <div> "I found him out in the woods one morning, while I was out for a walk. He was injured, tired, and soaked from a rainfall the previous night. I brought him back here, patched him up, and he's been my close friend ever since."</div> <div> {Are you two finished with that chess board yet?} Sting interrupted. {Florio and I wanted to have a turn too!} Zeth rolled his eyes and pushed the board over to the waiting Beedrill....</div> <bR> <div> Zeth woke up to a ray of sunlight streaming straight into his face. Blinking in the unexpected light and trying to get his eyes to focus, he managed to recognize Florio standing at the window, with one vine wrapped around the curtain cord and a grin on his face.</div> <div> {Good morning, Zeth. Did you sleep well?} the Ivysaur asked cheerfully.</div> <div> "Yeah, except for your little wake-up call." Florio's grin widened, until Zeth couldn't resist smiling as well. You're in a good mood today, aren't you?"</div> <div> {Why shouldn't I be?} Florio nodded toward the window. {It looks like we're going to have great weather today. Perfect for traveling.}</div> <div> Zeth chuckled, "I thought you liked rain."</div> <div> {I do, but it does tend to slow us down. Everyone else would rather have sunny weather anyway.}</div> <div> "Including me." Zeth sat up. "So, where's Spencer this morning?"</div> <div> {He told me that he had to go, but he would be back by 8:30. I'm not sure where he went, but he left us some breakfast. We should go eat before everyone else finishes it off.}</div> <div> Florio was right about the food. Spencer had left the group some glazed cinnamon rolls that had almost disappeared by the time Zeth and Florio got to the table. Fortunately, Florio was able to snag the last two rolls before the other pokémon could grab them.</div> <div> "Hey, you four, didn't your parents ever teach you to save some food for your trainer?" Zeth joked.</div> <div> Sting waved one stinger-tipped leg in the air. {Actually, I think they were always telling us to watch out for people with pokéballs. They never said much about what we should do if we get caught.}</div> <div> "I don't doubt it"</div> <bR> <div> Zeth glanced at the clock yet again. <I>9:15... Where IS Spencer?</I> "Florio, are you sure Spencer said that he would be back by 8:30 or is it possible that you misheard?"</div> <div> The Ivysaur rolled his eyes, {Zeth, the words eight and nine sound nothing alike. Unless Spencer accidentally gave me the wrong time, there's no mistake. Now stop worrying, he'll be back any minute.}</div> <div> "That's what you said fifteen minutes ago." The door suddenly flew open, making Zeth and Florio jump back in surprise. Spencer leaned against the doorway as he tried to catch his breath. He had obviously been running for a while and he looked like he was starting to panic about something. "Spencer! Where have you been? What's wrong?"</div> <div> "I can't find Rocky anywhere! Have you seen him today?"</div> <div> Zeth frowned, "I thought he was with you. How long has he been missing?"</div> <div> "I'm not sure! I haven't seen him all morning!"</div> <div> "Couldn't this just be one of his occasional disappearances?"</div> <div> That seemed to calm Spencer down a bit, but not by much. "Well, it might be, but he's never snuck out this early in the morning before and he's always back in time for a meal."</div> <div> {Rocky's not back yet?}, Talon cut in. Zeth hadn't even noticed the Spearow enter the room. {I saw him when I woke up at six o'clock. I noticed him heading out the door and asked him where he was going. He said that he was going for a walk, and would be back soon. Didn't he ever come back?}</div> <div> Zeth shook his head, "I don't think so. Someone would have noticed him come back in. Since no one has seen him, he's probably still out there somewhere. Talon, could you and Sting perform an aerial search?"</div> <div> {Fine with me. I'll go get Sting.}</div> <div> "Get the rest of them too. We'll search the ground, while you search the skies."</div> <bR> <div> Thirty minutes later, they still had not found the missing Cubone. "Where could he be?" Spencer wondered aloud when the search parties met back at the house.</div> <div> Zeth shook his head, "I don't know. I had Blaze and Florio ask the wild pokémon if they had seen him, but most of them haven't. However, the ones that did see him said he was headed east. I think we should focus our search in that direction."</div> <div> Eva suddenly yipped, {I don't think that will be necessary, Zeth} The little Eevee was staring at something around the corner of the house. She quickly ran back to Zeth, as the object of her attention walked into view.</div> <div> It was a masked man, totally dressed in black. At his side was Rocky, wearing a collar and a leash, which the man yanked whenever the Cubone started to lag behind him. Rocky looked pretty miserable, and Zeth had a strange feeling about the newcomer.</div> <div> "Hey! What are you doing with Rocky!?" Spencer was obviously NOT happy to see his best friend being treated so roughly. "He's MY pokémon! Let him off of that leash!"</div> <div> The man shoved Rocky roughly when the Cubone moved toward Spencer, knocking the pokémon over. "I don't think so. I've been looking for this bonehead for nearly two months. Never thought I'd see him again, but here he is, and now I'm takin' him back!"</div> <div> Zeth stared at the masked man in disbelief, "You're Rocky's master? Then why did Spencer find him alone in the woods?"</div> <div> "The little runt ran away." He noticed Rocky gnawing at the leash and gave him a kick. "Stop that right now, or I'll use the hose on you!" The little pokémon cowered from the man's glare.</div> <div> "That's cruel!" Spencer objected. "You shouldn't treat your pokémon like that, and I'm not going to let you do that to Rocky!"</div> <div> "You stay out of this. He's my pokémon, and I can discipline him however I want to." He pulled out a pokéball and aimed it at Rocky. "Retur--"</div> <div> "Wait..." Spencer interrupted. "Would you be willing to sell him?"</div> <div> "Well...." The man paused for a few seconds, appearing to consider the proposal. Zeth got the feeling that he was faking, though. <I>That's what he wanted the whole time!</I> "Sure. I'll sell him.... for the right price."</div> <div> "That won't be a problem. I'm sure I can find something you would like. Come with me." The masked man and Spencer entered the house, with Zeth following a few steps behind them.</div> <div> {Zeth, wait!} Talon flew over and landed on Zeth's shoulder, then waited until everyone else had gone indoors and Zeth had shut the door. {There's something wrong about that guy. I'm not sure what it is, but don't let down your guard.} Without waiting for a reply, the Spearow shot off into the sky.</div> <div> Zeth watched the Spearow disappear into the woods, then opened the door and stepped inside.</div> <bR> <div> {Where's Talon going?} Florio asked, as Zeth walked in.</div> <div> "I have no idea, but I think he'll be back soon. Did I miss anything?"</div> <div> {No, but I think it was a mistake to let that guy in here. He'll set a high price now that he's seen all the rare stuff Spencer has.}</div> <div> "I agree. Come on, let's go check on them."</div> <div> Spencer was showing the man the collection of evolution stones. The man was examining the leaf stone, while Rocky hid in a corner. Carelessly tossing it back into its case, the man turned to the shelf of figurines. "Yes, yes... it's very nice. I'll take them."</div> <div> Spencer stepped over to the man. "Take what? The evolution stones or the figurines?"</div> <div> "Everything." The man turned, and Zeth felt chills go down his back. Spencer gasped and jumped back, although that wouldn't help very much against the gun the man was aiming at him. "Now recall your pokémon and don't give me any trouble, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life, however long that may be..."</div> <bR> <div> After being tied up to a chair for 20 minutes, Zeth believed that he was starting to lose all feeling in his feet. After driving a truck up to the house, the robber was taking the time to pack everything in boxes, which Zeth thought was a little odd. <I>But then again, no one is likely to find us out here in the woods, so he has all the time he wants.</I> Taping the last box shut, the man walked over to his prisoners. He reached down to Zeth's belt, and took all of his pokéballs. "Hey!" Zeth protested, "Leave my pokémon alone!" He was quickly silenced as the man backhanded him, making him see stars.</div> <div> "Quiet! I'm calling the shots now." He grabbed a beautiful, hand-crafted dagger from its display case and sliced through Zeth's bonds. "Get up and carry those boxes to the truck. Don't drop any, or you'll regret it!"</div> <div> Zeth nodded and picked up a box. It was full of heavy statuettes, but he was in no position to complain. Stumbling out the door, he somehow managed to get the box into the truck without dropping it. As he moved more and more of the valuables, the man seemed to be getting more and more impatient. "Hurry up, kid. I don't have all day." Zeth nodded, and walked a little faster, acutely aware of the gun pointed in his direction.</div> <div> When the last box was in the truck, the man dragged Zeth back into the house and shoved him back into his chair. "Well, now, what should I do with you two? If I leave you here, then you might escape and tell the cops about me. No, I think I'll just kill you both, cause nobody will find you for a LONG time." He aimed the gun at Spencer's head. "Any last words?" Spencer just glared at him. "No? Good, I didn't want to hear anything anyway --- Hey!" Rocky had overcome his fear of a beating and was now tugging on the man's pant leg, babbling out what sounded like a plea for mercy for his friend. "Let go, you little fiend!" the man snarled, kicking the poor Cubone repeatedly.</div> <div> Zeth thought about trying to wrest the gun away from the man, but a final kick from the man left the little pokémon in a motionless heap, and the moment was lost. "That's it! I'm not wasting any more time around here! Prepare to die!" He aimed at Zeth's head, and Zeth suddenly was blinded by a flash of light followed by a loud bang and a sharp blow to his chest.....</div> <bR> <div> <I>My chest? But he was aiming for my head! </I>It took Zeth a second to realize that he was still alive. The robber took about the same amount of time to realize that he was no longer holding his weapon. <I>What in the world?</I></div> <div> "Great job, Rocky!" Spencer shouted from his chair. Where the little Cubone had been laying just a few seconds before, there now was a much larger Marowak. Zeth looked down at his feet, where the Marowak's bone club had fallen after it had ricocheted off the robber's gun and then hit him! <I>Better that then a bullet!</I></div> <div> The masked man shoved past Zeth and ran for the door. Scooping up the club, Zeth chased after the man. With strength that could only have come from his near-death adrenaline rush, Zeth hurled the bone at the fleeing villain, catching him across the back of the head and knocking him flat.</div> <div> Zeth poked the man a few times to make sure he was really out, then snatched his pokéballs back and opened all of them at once, since he could not tell them apart. He quickly switched his pokédex translator on as his pokémon appeared. "Florio, hold him with your vines! If he starts to wake up, bash him again. I'm going to call the police."</div> <div> {No need for that!} Talon suddenly landed on the unconscious burglar's head and gave him a quick peck. {I knew something was wrong, so I watched from outside the window. When this guy pulled a gun, I flew to Peridot Town and brought the resident Officer Jenny back with me. She's right behind me.}</div> <div> Zeth glanced up, and, as the Spearow had said, a police motorcycle had just entered the clearing. "Good job, Talon." Suddenly feeling very weak, he sank down to his knees. "I've definitely had enough adventure for today!"</div> <bR> <div> "You two were very lucky!" Officer Jenny stated as she shoved the groggy criminal into the sidecar of her motorcycle. "We've been after this guy for a long time, but we never managed to catch him."</div> <div> Zeth grinned, "Well we would have both been goners if it wasn't for Rocky. He's the real hero!" He patted the Marowak's head, then grimaced and rubbed his chest. "Just work on your aim, ok? I think you might have bruised a rib."</div> <div> Spencer shook his head, "You're unbelievable. You had as much to do with capturing that guy as Rocky, and you know it!"</div> <div> "Either way, you have a great friend, Spencer. I hope you and Rocky have a wonderful life together. Right now though, it's time for me to move on."</div> <div> "I understand. You have a dream of becoming a pokémon master, and I'm sure that someday, your dream will come true." Spencer extended his hand. "Goodbye, Zeth."</div> <div> Zeth shook his hand. "Bye, Spencer, Rocky." He nodded to the Marowak. "I'll stop by next time I'm in the area, so don't go anywhere!"</div> <div> Officer Jenny spoke up, "Hey, if you're heading toward Peridot, than I'll give you a ride. It's the least I can do for you after what you've been through. You'd have to sit behind me since sleeping beauty is in my sidecar, but I don't think that would be a problem."</div> <div> "Thanks!" Zeth hopped onto the motorcycle, behind the policewoman. While Jenny was starting the vehicle, Rocky gave the criminal one last whack over the head, which amused Zeth greatly. As they drove off, Zeth called out a final farewell. "So long, my friends. Take good care of yourselves!"</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>